"The compartmentalization of personalities in order to respond and survive to vastly different situations combined into a fluid organism given life through the beating of drum skins, Tokyo funk car horns, ice cream bass drips... The Alter Ego Collective is here to express what their life has made them become, what they have adapted to, what they wish to be. An exploration of everything one human can express through the window of sound and words. No limits for an experience that reaches deeper. Burning the questions, not knowing the answers, Ain't nobody paying attention...Sip what they slip in our glasses."- Alter Ego Collective

Name: Kyle Brouwer

Stage Name: Alter Ego Collective/ AEC

Age: 28

Background: Started drumming in a psychedlic punk band called The Rubin Grey Sound in high school. Wrote poems and raps throughout junior high and high school and started rapping at parties and freestyling after school for fun. Kyle has been creating music as Alter Ego Collective for 10 years but 2017 is the year he decided to start taking it seriously and he released his first studio album Indigo Hours.

Influences: The Mars Volta, T.V. on the Radio, Wu Tang Clan, Biggie, Verbal and the Kickdrums, Modest Mouse. "I get inspiration from comic books, books, counter culture, art, but generally i am influenced by my own human experience and those around me that share theirs with me."

What started your musical journey?

"I've always felt connected to music. What really gave me the drive and confidence to pursue hip hop as an artist myself was going to a Hopsin show at the Republik some years back. He had a freestyle competition in the middle of his set. My friends encouraged me to get up since they had heard me freestyling at parties. I went to the front and got his attention. He didn't think I was serious and started laughing and making jokes, so I jumped up on stage to show I was serious. He let me battle two other guys over his DJs beats. I laid down a wicked verse off the top of my head and won. He called me back as I was getting off the stage and gave me props. I felt like if someone of his caliber could feel my passion and be convinced of my ability, then I could convince others with every show and every record I put out. I thought that I should actually try to put something out and do it!"

What motivates you to stay on this path?

"I'm motivated by the people around me. The struggles of life make every show and every recording that much more meaningful. The way I am able to actually connect on some level with strangers through my music keeps me going. I am able to be honest and vulnerable in a way that is only achievable through what i do with my music. I have made connections with honest and sincere people who I never would have met if it wasn't for music. Its a way to get out of my head and leave my anxiety's behind. It has made me feel at home being myself."

What do you hope to achieve through your music?

"I want people to feel as though my songs fit with their lives. I want to express emotions that I have felt at certain times in my life and hope that it resonates with people who may be going through the same tough times. I make music with the mindset of "what would I like to listen to when I'm feeling this way" or "why isn't there a song for this". I just hope people can learn from my mistakes and successes, expressed through my songs, and turn it into confidence for themselves to accomplish their own definition of achievement."